Run for Cover
by xBearingSecretsx
Summary: With Odd sick and a specter chasing after them, how can Ulrich help both himself and Odd escape? (CL:E) Rated T for character death [Discontinued]


A/N: This is based on the newest season, "Code Lyoko: Evolution!"

I hope you enjoy!

"Hurry, Odd! She's catching up!"

Odd and Ulrich slammed the gym doors closed and used everything they could to barricade them. When there was nothing more they could do to keep the specter out, Ulrich helped Odd over to the far side of the gym, where they both collapsed.

Ulrich wrapped a comforting, protective arm around Odd's shoulders and pulled him close. The blond's svelte frame wracked with sobs, his breathing coming out labored and pained. All of that plus the run over hadn't helped his ghostly-pale complexion either. Odd clutched desperately at the front of his shirt, balling the material into a tight fist in futile hopes that it would stop the burning sensation that came with each breath he took.

If XANA had ever wanted to torment them, this was the perfect day. Odd had woken up with an awful pain in his stomach and had barely been able to move all day, with the unpleasant exception of throwing up the massive amount of food he'd eaten the day before.

And Ulrich, being the good friend that he was, had opted to ditch class and even call in sick on the XANA attack in favor of taking care of his best friend. It was only when Jeremie called to warn him of another specter, this time in the form of Sissi, that he'd been forced to take action.

Ulrich peeked outside for any sign of the specter. The coast was clear for now, but it wouldn't be for long, so he had to move quickly. Ignoring Odd's many protests, he picked his friend up bridal style and started the run toward the factory.

Just as they were about to enter the forest, however, Ulrich's hopes were dashed when he caught sight of Sissi's annoyingly bright blonde hair.

He immediately turned on his heel and began running back toward the dorms, earning concerned glances from the other students who were leaving for the afternoon. He assured the younger ones, namely Milly and Tamiya, that Odd was just feeling a little under the weather, and he was just taking him to the infirmary to get him some help. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

"Stern!" Jim's familiar voice shouted from behind, and Ulrich inwardly cursed himself for not being more careful when it came to this part of the school. They didn't have time for this! "What's going on? What's wrong with Della Robbia?" he asked, peering concernedly down at Odd, who had passed out from the pain mid-run.

"He just has a bad stomach ache, Jim. I was taking him to Yolanda to see if she can make him feel better." Ulrich took a quick sweep of their surroundings, only to notice just a little too late that Sissi had already spotted them both. "Uh, I really gotta run, Jim! See ya!" he rushed, about-facing with every intention of hightailing it out of there.

"Oh, no, you don't, Stern!" Jim's firm, calloused hand on his shoulder halted any further advancement. "You have classes!" He stepped in front of the teen and held out his arms. "I can take care of Della Robbia."

"No, really, Jim, I—!" He froze when he saw Sissi charging at them. "Uh, looks like Sissi really needs you, Jim! Better take care of her first! She is the headmaster's daughter, after all! Gotta run, bye!" he shouted, sprinting toward the forest as quickly as he could. He had both Sissi and Jim chasing after him now. Great… he thought sarcastically. Now I have to lose two dumbbells…

To be honest, Ulrich had no idea where he was headed. Of the following several minutes, the only thing he cared to remember was that he'd somehow made it to the science building, and it was there soon afterward that Odd with a sharp cry of pain.

"It's okay, Odd. It's okay. I've gotcha," his best friend assured breathlessly. He spotted a classroom that had been vacant for as long as he'd attended Kadic and made his way over to it. "I have to put you down to open the door, all right?" Odd nodded stiffly, and Ulrich kept him steady on his feet as he opened the door.

The second he had the door open, the brunette pushed Odd inside as gently as he could before jumping inside himself and slamming the door shut. Locking the door with the spare key he'd found (the teachers were never very sneaky if one knew where to look), he pulled himself up to look out the tiny window above the door. He gasped and cursed in his head. How had she found them so quickly?!

Jumping down, he dragged Odd to the corner farthest from the door and sat down, pulling his friend down with him. "Odd, come here," Ulrich said, and the Della Robbia boy, wanting comfort right now more than anything else, wearily plopped down in Ulrich's lap without so much as a squeak of embarrassment or indignation.

All was silent for a single, serene moment before the sound of someone fumbling with the doorknob startled them both, mostly Odd, who latched on to Ulrich and yelped just like his dog, Kiwi. Ulrich clamped a hand over the other boy's mouth and put a finger to his lips to keep his friend quiet.

Removing his hand, the Stern boy gently shifted Odd from his lap to the floor while he went to go check the window again. Yep, just as he'd suspected. Sissi was trying to open the door, and knowing XANA, it wouldn't be long before she succeeded.

"We have to get out of here," he warned, hitting the ground running. Zipping past Odd, he grabbed his friend's hand and hauled him to his feet a little too roughly, causing Odd to cry out in pain again. Ulrich winced, but if they were going to survive, there was no time to be gentle. The knob-turning on the other side of the door quieted suddenly, but neither of the boys took notice. They were too focused on breaking the window and jumping the luckily-one story to the ground, only to have to return to the original mission of getting to the forest once more.

"Ulrich…!" Odd panted, falling to his knees just as they passed the first line of trees. Ulrich skidded to a halt and ran back to his best friend, who'd begun dry heaving and eventually emptied what little his stomach still had left into the bushes. "I can't…!" he wheezed, unable to even finish his sentence as tears streamed down his face.

Thinking quickly, Ulrich urged, "Get on my back!" He turned around and moved into a half-kneel with arms outstretched behind him so Odd could climb on as effortlessly as possible. Reaching out to loop shaky arms around Ulrich's neck, the blond inched forward to partially wrap his legs around his friend's middle. Ulrich took hold of Odd's legs just above the kneecaps, and they were off again in no time.

Ulrich still didn't know where he was going – he could hear the specter right behind them, and he couldn't lead her to the factory – but then again, he supposed anywhere was better than staying there and being sitting ducks for XANA.

And yet, it would figure in that the only safe place he could find was the gym. Again. Man, this was so not their day…

The specter must have come in after they'd left the first time. Everything they'd used to barricade the doors was strewn across the room, some of it broken, and the doors themselves had nearly been torn off their hinges. But they couldn't worry about that now. Their priority was staying alive until the Tower was deactivated.

Kneeling down in front of Odd where he'd sat him against the wall, Ulrich ruffled his friend's hair and lay a strong hand on his shoulder. "Odd, buddy, I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but we're cutting it close this time, and if we want to make it through this, I'm gonna need your help."

Nodding weakly, Odd allowed Ulrich to pull him to his feet so he could help set the doors as straight as possible and then work on barricading themselves in again. After about ten minutes, they stepped back and realized there was nothing else to move. Everything that could be in front of those doors was. Their final defense in play, all they could do now was wait and see. There was nowhere left to run.

Just like last time, they settled down against the wall farthest from the doors, in the shadows where they'd have some slight advantage if things got tight, and just like last time, Ulrich curled Odd protectively to his chest.

"I'm scared," the blond whispered, voice trembling, and his best friend held him tighter.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Ulrich soothed, rubbing his back repetitively. Truth be told, he was shocked at how vulnerable Odd was acting. He'd never seen him so afraid before, and usually, Odd was never afraid. Of anything! Just hearing those words from his mouth told Ulrich what he already knew: if the others ever wanted to see them again outside of body bags, they'd better step on it.

"What if they don't deactivate the Tower in time?" Odd asked in a low voice. Ulrich didn't want to admit it, but his best friend wasn't wrong to worry. It seemed like every time there was an activated Tower on Lyoko, everyone got devirtualized, and whoever hadn't been able to make it due to being trapped somewhere else ended up being the one who saved the day. This time, though, there was no way that was going to happen. Not even close.

"They will. They always do."

Odd shook his head. "N-not always. Aelita hasn't deactivated a single one since XANA woke up again, a-and Yumi's only done it once! It's usually me who deactivates the Towers!" Ulrich didn't know what to say to that. After all, Odd was right. He just hoped for everyone's sake that, just this once, the luck would be on their side.

But, like always, he should have known better than to rely on 'luck' as a last resort.

The doors to the gym flew into the far wall just above Ulrich and Odd, and the brunette had to leap up and pull Odd out of the way to avoid being crushed. So much for staying in the shadows. Now they probably looked more like deer caught in the headlights of a car – only this particular model came in the form of a teenage girl with the power to kill them in a few seconds flat. That automatically made her a million and one times worse than a car.

The specter marched toward them without pause, and although Ulrich tried to shield his already-ailing friend, Sissi just picked him up and threw him across the room like he was yesterday's news. Smiling wickedly, she reached down to pick Odd up and squeeze him like she wanted to pop his head off. Ulrich lunged forward to kick Sissi into the opposite wall, caching the blond as he fell limply into his arms.

"Odd! Odd, wake up! Okay, buddy, you've had your fun, but this isn't playtime anymore!" He shook him as hard as he could, but nothing worked. "Odd, come on, wake up! Odd, please!"

Hearing footsteps behind him, Ulrich peered up at the specter, who actually had the gall to look pleased at what she'd done. Ulrich's body filled with rage and grief, and just when he'd been about to attack her kamikaze-style, she disappeared in a flurry of thousands of green data streams.

The Tower had finally been deactivated. But not in time. …Just like Odd had feared…

Wasting no time, Ulrich pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jeremie's number, praying he'd pick up.

"Hello? Ulrich? Boy, am I glad to hear your voice! What about Odd? Is he with you? Are you both okay?" the genius' voice sounded through the phone, and Ulrich let out a sigh of relief that was quickly replaced by a sob as reality suddenly kicked in. His best friend was dead.

"Jeremie—Odd! He's—he—!" He couldn't bear to finish. The rest of what he'd been about to say was lost in an overwhelming bout of sobs.

"Ulrich, what were you going to say?! What's wrong with Odd?!" Jeremie demanded, anxiety clearly spiking even through the phone. Ulrich could hear his other friends asking concerned questions in the background, but Jeremie shushed them just in time to hear the sob-filled answer.

"He's dead."

All activity on the other end ceased almost immediately, and Ulrich heard the distinct sound of Jeremie's phone crashing to the floor. He took that opportunity to hang up, not wanting to hear the combined reactions of his surviving friends.

Instead, he just looked into his friend's lifeless face, happy at least that his pain had finally come to an end, before holding him close and letting his tears soak Odd's favorite purple jacket.

"I'm sorry, Odd," he whispered, voice breaking. "You were always such a great friend to me, and I let you down. I never told you how much your friendship saved me, did I?" He smiled grimly despite himself. "Well, at least now you know." He buried his face deeper into Odd's chest, clutching fistfuls of his stupid jacket. "I'm so, so sorry, Odd."

"For what?"

A/N: This feels like it could either be the first fifteen minutes of an episode or an entire episode…I can't decide... But anywho, hope you enjoyed, but whether you did or not, please leave a review so I know what you think!

Thanks for reading!


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